Top 10 Nanotechnology Stocks

The Ongoing Nanotech Revolution

Far from being in the realm of science fiction, nanotechnology is already all around us. This mostly started with the semiconductor industry, which had to progressively move toward the nanometer scale (one-millionth of a meter) to keep increasing transistor density in computer chips.

The progress made in nanoscale manufacturing is now allowing nanotech entry into plenty of other sectors, from pharmaceutical to textiles and energy.

Nanowonders

Nanotechnology also promises to create plenty of wonder materials, including graphene, borophene, nanotubes, and other materials able to be superior to steel, concrete, or even titanium in every regard: lighter, mechanically stronger, more resistant to stress, heat, and cold.

Usually characterized by unique flat/2D shapes, these materials might even be superconductive at room temperature.

So, in turn, these wonder materials have unique properties that could make possible actual science-fiction concepts, like space elevators, mass drivers, hyperloop trains, flying cars, bionic implants, human-level AI, etc.

We discussed in further detail a few of these materials and the latest news about them in the following articles:

• Graphene Semiconductors – Are They Finally Here?
• From Graphene to Goldene: Advanced Single-Atom Layer Materials Open New Doors for Future Discoveries
• Like Graphene, but Better.

Industries Impacted By Nanotechnology

As mentioned before, the industries currently using nanotechnology on an ongoing basis are mostly the semiconductors industry.

Here are some of the other sectors quickly adopting it:

• Medicine & Pharmaceuticals.
• Batteries.
• Green energy: solar panels, hydrogen generation, desalinization, etc.
• Aerospace.
• Construction.
• Textiles.
• Transport and automotive.
• Food production and agriculture.
• Chemicals.

Maybe it could be quicker to make a list of the sectors not integrating nanotechnology in their processes…

You can also see a “bird’s eyes view” of nanotechnology adoption in various industries and examples in this 2023 scientific publication titled “Nanotechnology: A Revolution in Modern Industry”.

Top 10 Nanotech Companies

This list looks to cover most nanotechnologies applications and innovation rather than only the largest nanotechnology companies, which will tend to be all in the semiconductors industry.

1. Applied Materials

Applied Materials provides a myriad of products supporting the manufacturing of semiconductors. Most will be hard to fully understand for non-engineers, like “Metal and oxide barrier films,” “Color shifting and holographic films,” or “In-chamber patterned metal layers.”

Source: Applied Materials

This makes it a central supplier to “virtually anybody that makes a microchip.” And therefore an integral part of the AI boom as well.

It also makes its business model very stable, with more than 60% of revenues coming from subscriptions like equipment automatic renewal, maintenance services, consumable sales, etc. On average, these contracts last 2.6 years and are renewed in more than 90% of cases.

This led the company to register 15 consecutive quarters of year-to-year growth at the end of 2022.

The company has steadily grown its dividend distribution, even if the quicker stock price rise has lowered the dividend yield. Since 2012, the company has also repurchased around a quarter of its outstanding shares.

Virtually every machinery from Applied Material works at or close to the nanoscale level, sometimes manipulating silicon wafers and other elements at the atomic level.

This expertise can be expanded beyond chip manufacturing, with Applied Material already active in other industries like solar, display/screens, and roll-to-roll coating systems used for packaging, anti-counterfeit, security, and flexible electronics.

Source: Applied Materials

2. IBM

A key company in the creation of the modern computer age, International Business Machines, or IBM, has been experimenting with nanotechnology since the 1980s. Notably, it was responsible for the very first replicable technique for manipulating individual atoms across a surface with control.

The current achievements of IBM in nanotechnology are mostly focused on semiconductors and computing, the core of its business, thanks to its model Albany Nanotech Center. This includes:

• The world’s first 2nm transistor was revealed in 2021.
• AI chips.
• High NA EUV lithography, the next step in chip manufacturing.
• Quantum computing, notably with the 133-qubit Quantum Heron processor.

It is easy to ignore IBM when looking at tech giants because it is mostly in the background, limiting itself to its core competence of B2B (Business to Business). However, this is actually a strength for IBM, with partnerships regarding computing and nanotechnology beyond the computer industry.

For example, most of the largest pharmaceutical companies have one or several partnerships with IBM regarding cloud computing, quantum computing, deployment of blockchain, ERP, AI, etc.

The same can be said for almost every industry, from defense to finance or manufacturing and consumer goods.

3. 3M

3M is a large chemical and material company specializing in high-performance products, with a very wide range of applications for its 60,000 different products.

This covers almost every industrial process and every industry, ranging from applications as diverse as adhesives, porous materials, radiation processing, polymer processing, 3D printing, ceramics, etc.

Source: 3M

The company is also a giant in intellectual property, with 120,383 patents and 3,500+ more patents every year, with labs in 50 countries and $1.9B in R&D.

One segment where 3M is less active is healthcare, since the April 2024 spin-off of Solventum, in which it retains only 19.9% ownership. You can read more about Solventum as a stand-alone company in this presentation.

Thanks to expertise in material science, nanotechnology, and chemistry, 3M is well positioned to build at-scale nanotechnology innovation and commercialize it through its extensive sales network. And it has been recognized as leading the charge in nanotechnology for more than a decade.

4. BASF (BASFY)

A giant of the chemical industry, BASF employs 110,000+ people across 11 divisions grouped into 6 segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions.

20%+ of the activity comes from chemicals and plastics and 20%+ from transportation. It also has a strong presence in agriculture and consumer goods.

Source: BASF

The company invests massively in R&D, with $2B+ annual spending, spread throughout many sectors, but with a strong focus on creating growth in the agricultural sector (pesticides, herbicides, and seed treatment).

Source: BASF

The expertise in plastics and other chemical manufacturing extends to the nanoscale, notably with a leadership position in nanoparticulate surface coating, porous materials, and polymers.

This gives the company room to expand in new sectors. For example, it recently started to provide cathode active materials to Nanotech Energy’s lithium-ion battery cells.

“Our partnership with Nanotech, ABTC, and TODA marks an important step for BASF’s global battery recycling business. Now, we are establishing the first closed-loop system in North America. This enables BASF and Nanotech to produce lithium-ion batteries with locally recycled content.”

Daniel Schönfelder, Senior Vice President Battery Base Metals and Recycling at BASF

4. CATL (300750.SZ)

CATL is the global leader in battery manufacturing, producing more than half of the total global battery volume. The company is present at every step of the battery manufacturing supply chain and is a leader in battery technology.

This is true for lithium-ion batteries, where the company has been a long-established leader for a long time. CATL has also announced impressive progress on multiple other battery types :

• A 12,000-cycle ultra-long-life battery for utility-scale energy storage, with 18,000 cycles as a long-term goal.
• A 700km LFP (Lithium Ferrum Phosphate) battery charging 400km of range in 10 minutes.
• A 500 Wh/kg, potentially enabling electrification of passenger aircrafts.
• Mass production of 160Wh/kg sodium-ion batteries, with a target for 200 Wh/kg.

Source: CATL

This impressive battery performance is only achieved thanks to an understanding of battery chemistry down to the atomic level. By understanding how the atoms of the battery’s cathode & anode act, the company can create new designs that are optimized for electron flows and the highest possible energy density.

CATL has also invested 3.25B in battery recycling capacities in China. CATL has notably achieved a remarkable recovery rate of 99.6% for nickel, cobalt, manganese, and 91% for lithium. This too is achieved thanks to advanced nanotechnology and a deep understanding of the chemistry of lithium, copper, cobalt, etc.

Thanks to its scale, focus, and R&D achievements, CATL is likely to be at the forefront of battery innovation, manufacturing, and recycling. This makes it a key partner for EV manufacturers, including Tesla, NIO, Ford, Stellantis, etc.

5. ThermoFisher

ThermoFisher is a leader in lab instruments and analytical tools for the chemical and biotech industry, with 125,000 employees. This also makes it an important partner for production at the scale of advanced medical treatment and other biotechnology products.

Source: ThermoFisher

From relatively crude methods, biotech is now fully operating at the nanoscale (DNA, RNA, proteins), with the limit between biotech and nanotech increasingly blurry.

For example, methods like chromatography, mass spectrometry, or electron microscopy all rely on advanced nanotechnology to analyze or purify samples down to the molecule level.

And these machines, in turn, use nanoscale components like nanoporous membranes, nanotubes, etc.

With every new use case, therapy, or miracle material discovered, there is a growth in demand for TermoFisher machines.

This put TermoFisher in a good position to grow together with the nanotech and biotech industry.

6. Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG)

Graphene is a 2D nanolayer of carbon atoms with exceptional properties on conductivity, physical strength (100x than steel), thermal conductivity, etc. The discovery of graphene was rewarded with a Nobel Prize in 2010.

Source: Applied Graphene Material

Graphene is currently used for a variety of applications, mostly as a coating on other materials or as a lubricant. Its main advantages are superior resistance to corrosion and chemicals and high thermal conductivity.

Source: GMG

But some further applications could be the creation of graphene semiconductors (see “Graphene Semiconductors – Are They Finally Here?”), or even room-temperature superconductors. Graphene coating could also find use in batteries and for f hydrogen pressure vessel technologies.

Source: GMG

GMG produces its graphene from methane + hydrogen, which differs from most of its competitors, who produce it from graphite natural deposits. This allows for higher purity, more scalability, and low-cost production.

The company launched its first production facility in Australia in 2023, with up to 1 million liters of heat exchanger coating production per year.

The next step for the company will be its battery technology based on graphene aluminum ion, with a density of 290 Wh/kg, 60x faster charging than lithium-ion batteries, 3x  the battery life, and a better fire hazard profile.

Source: GMG

7. Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc (ONT.L)

Oxford Nanopore is using a unique genome sequencing technology relying on flow cells. This allows DNA to be “read” when crossing the nanopores, not through chemical means but directly by measuring an electric current. So, in a way, this is the first time a computer can read a genetic sequence (DNA & RNA) in real time.

Source: Oxford Nanopore

Another unique advantage of the company’s technology is that it can read longer genetic sequences than conventional sequencing methods. Long sequences and real-time reading can help to get better and quicker results, which is important for cancer analysis or infectious diseases like antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Lastly, electrical measurement allows for smaller and more portable sequencers, an improvement from the massive machines used until now. This allows the company to produce a wide array of sequencers, including slower, smaller, and much cheaper machines, starting at $1,000. This could radically expand the sequencing market, with mobile or low-cost sequencing not an option previously.

Because of its radically new technology, it is unclear where Oxford will fit in a more mature genome sequencing ecosystem.

It could fully replace the incumbent technology of chemical/optical reading of genomes from Illumina and Pacific Biosciences. Or it could become a successful but niche application for low-volume or mobile sequencing or for sequencing requiring a high-accuracy reading of long genetic sequences.

You can decide by yourself the likely scenario for the gene sequencing market with our article “5 Best Genome Sequencing Companies”.

The company also plans to expand into the reading of proteins, post-translational modification of proteins or small molecules, and other measurements at the very edge of life sciences.

8. Nano Dimension

Most additive manufacturing companies focus on metal and plastic, with an eye for complex mechanical parts. Nano Dimension is instead focused on 3D-printed electronics. This includes very specialized technologies like conductive or dielectric inks & ceramics.

This is one of the possible applications of 3D printing to the nanoscale, which we explored further in “Nanoscale 3D Printing Looks Primed for Commercialization”.

Source: Nano Dimensions

For example, these technologies can be used for building optical or radio components. The company claims it can reduce the ecological footprint of manufacturing, with a reduction of 94% in CO2 emissions, 100% in water, 98% in materials, and 82% in chemicals.

Nano Dimension is active in aerospace, automotive electronics, and other sectors.  The company has grown its revenues by 258% CAGR since 2020, or a 12x growth. Part of this growth was driven by a series of acquisitions since 2021, bringing multiple electronic 3D printing technologies under the same roof.

Source: Nano Dimensions

Recently, the company was at the center of a battle for control between the current management and the asset management firm Murchinson.

Management claims that Murchinson intends to acquire the company at a discount and liquidate the company to “liquidate its cash assets.”

Since then, the dispute is still ongoing. The company has improved its cash flows but has failed at repeated attempts to buy the 3D printer Stratasys.

The situation could be resolved soon, but until then, investors might want to wait and see that the company will continue to innovate in 3D printing instead of being liquidated.

9. Nanobiotix

The company’s radiotherapy-activated NBTXR3 is made of hafnium oxide nanoparticles of an average 50nm size.

Source: Nanobiotix

It is injected directly into a tumor and increases the energy transferred by radiotherapy 9x compared to radiotherapy alone.

It is inert in the absence of radiotherapy and stays in the tumor.

Source: Nanobiotix

This technology could be a universal radiotherapy enhancer, especially for solid tumors, and is currently in clinical trials for 14 different cancers, in partnership with Janssen (a branch of pharma giant Johnson & Johnson) and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. So far, 350+ patients have been injected with NBTXR3 and the safety profile has been satisfying.

In total, 60% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy, and with 20 million new cancer diagnoses per year, it makes it a massive potential market for a universal radiotherapy booster worth $6.2B by 2029.

The agreement with Janssen for NBTXR3 included a $60M upfront, with up to $1.8B if reaching later development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. To this is added tiered royalties between 10-20%.

Source: Nanobiotix

The company is also working on Curadigm and Oocuity. Curadigm is a nanoprimer reducing liver activity to increase the effects of pharmaceuticals for a limited period of time. Oocuity is made of nanoparticles able to adjust neuronal activity, with at first a potential for neuropathic pain (pain induced by a brain problem), and later on for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc.

10. ON Semiconductor Corporation

ON Semi is a semiconductor company specializing in electrification, including in automotive, but also in other sectors like solar energy, batteries, aerospace, telecommunications, data centers, and medical.

The automotive sector is making 50% of Q1 2023 revenues and is expected to carry most of the company growth until 2025.

Source: ON Semiconductors

A big part of ON Semi’s technological advantage is based on silicon carbide, a new type of silicon compound used for high-energy electric systems. They notably allow for very high power loads required for the fast charging of EVs.

This makes silicon carbide a cornerstone of all the energy transition and high-tech, from EV to high-power computing and renewable energies. Silicon carbide is also investigated for its potential use in supercapacitors and quantum computing.

This strategy of doubling down on silicon carbide led to ON Semi experiencing a 26% CAGR for revenues between 2020-2022.

The growth is carried by a very large and diversifying customer base, including most of the world’s largest industrial and technology firms. ON Semi is also active in the sensor segment, with the release of a next-gen gas detector in April 2024.

With the need for ever more powerful and efficient batteries and electric systems, silicon carbides are becoming increasingly important in the global supply chain. This makes ON Semiconductor and silicon carbide the 2020s equivalent of the silicon semiconductor supply chain, posed for outsized growth.

As a leader in the sector, ON Semi is likely to greatly benefit from the electrification trend, especially EVs, as well as from data centers for AI training, solar and battery systems at the utility scale, and the overall electrification trend.